


You Did No Such Thing

by KailynBail



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Desire, F/M, Forbidden, Friendship with Cullen, Longing, Want, bashful bull, cameo appearances from other characters, feelings of failure, the other side of the Iron Bull
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 08:38:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11756106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KailynBail/pseuds/KailynBail
Summary: Mess with the Bull and you get the... blush? The Iron Bull has never been one to be... bashful. But... that's exactly what Anaan does to him, among other things. She's young, vibrant, free, beautiful... and a saarebas. Between the Qun, the hole in the Sky, and the Inquisition itself, including the Commander who would skewer him if he knew half the thoughts he'd had about their Inquisitor... the Bull isn't sure of anything, least of all his own purpose. He knows he wants her... but can he have her?[I'm considering this work currently finished though I might add to it sometime in the future.]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I like exploring this other side of the Iron Bull, where he doesn't want to be this dominant... cocky type person. He's still confident to a point but... he's more... exposed, if that makes sense. I also wanted to pull Cullen out of his shell a little bit. ; )

Ana made an uncomfortable face at the woman who passed as a man, crimson hues flicking back up to _him_ from the letter… or rather… invitation… he had just presented her with. She’d caught the tail end of his pitch… _you’ll find none better._ “Oh uh-huh.” Her lilt passed unmarred lips, disbelief staining the words. Oh, she’d heard of the _Bull’s Chargers_ , Shokrakar had spoken of them before. They were a brutish lot but they were run as any _Karataam_ , and lead by a _Ben-Hassrath._ A _Ben-Hassrath_ that pretended _not_ to be one. She worried her lower lip before casting an untrusting eye at the sky… and the breach. _We do need all the help we can get…_ she sighed heavily before looking back down at the man. “We’ll head there presently.” She spoke softly, as she tended to do when she was lying. She had very little intention of heading there… presently. She needed to speak with the Commander about this. But the man didn’t seem to notice her fib, he gave her a firm nod and retreated, apparently grateful to be leaving the Frostbacks. Ana watched him go with longing… she too would like to flee. She crumpled the missive and stuffed it down into the pocket of her coat, turning and aiming for the forward camp, where she knew the Templar would be watching the training troops with a keen eye. She kept her head down, though she knew it mattered little… her horns, though they only went past her head a few inches, still stuck up like little black arrows pointing at her, _screaming_ , ‘there she is!’. As if her six five frame didn’t give that away enough… she was the only Qunari here… and while she technically was short for her race, she was still taller than anyone else. Often, she felt like slouching almost comically so that she at least matched the men in height. But she didn’t… she didn’t. She trudged for awhile… passed the tavern… casting another look of longing… oh… oh an ale would be so nice… she made it almost five feet past the second door before she turned and went inside. She reappeared a few moments later with a mug of spiced hops, steaming against the cold. She sipped it almost too loudly as she passed the dwarf, snickering at his dramatic gape, the gawk he sent at her before he hurried past her towards the tavern muttering _something_ about how he didn’t know they would heat it up for you. She took a healthy swallow and forced herself to stand straight… and put a little bounce in her walk, the messy bun she wore her stained hair in bobbing on the back of her head. She heard him before she saw him, a smirk tugging at her… _put your shield up, if that man had been an enemy, you’d be dead!_ She came up behind him and thought nothing of setting her forearm on his shoulder and taking a lean, another swallow of ale and a cluck of her tongue to follow. “It’s just shameful…” She gestured to the men training before them.

Cullen stiffened at the arm… he didn’t have to look to know who it belonged to. He _loathed_ the way the Herald insisted on physical contact… he _hated_ the way she _leaned_ on him, like his sister used to when he was young and much shorter than she. It was as if she, and his sister, always had to rub it in. He wanted so much to duck out from under that arm but he knew she was, in fact, actually leaning on him and to do so might pitch her off balance and he couldn’t allow their Herald to fall face first into the snow covered ground. So… he gritted his teeth, stretched his neck muscle and seethed in silence. He’d slept like absolute hell last night and his head was pounding… his spine screaming at him, his knees aching, all of it was riding him… his brows slowly started to lift… well… it… was… all of it… was… he glanced sharply at his shoulder, where her arm was resting upon him as he realized the subtle warmth. He looked up at her face just as sharply as she took another swallow of her ale… her eyes… he saw the subtle shine, just there on the edge of her iris, if you weren’t looking close enough and you didn’t know what to look for, you wouldn’t have seen it… she was still looking at the troops.. as if she wasn’t… doing what she was doing. His chin trembled for a micro-second, his jaw tensing to still the action and his head snapping back to face forward. He took a deep breath, the first all day… and felt all his muscles ripple with the flood of relief. His voice came quiet… “Thank—“ But he found himself interrupted.

Ana knew the Commander suffered… which was why she insisted on meeting with him in the mornings anyway, she insisted on touching him, though she also enjoyed picking on him. It was hilarious to watch him fight the fluster, fight the frustrated blush that warmed his cheeks… oh there was no attraction there, from neither of them… but she saw beneath his harsh stares, his clipped words… he’d been hurt in the past. Badly. And he was still hurting… she could only guess… but… she knew he was in pain. So… she helped. Today was simply the first time he actually noticed. Probably because the pain had been so bad today… one of his worst yet no doubt, at least since he’d been around her. She heard the quiet apology starting, she gestured at the troops again, her voice suddenly booming out of her at the man he’d already yelled at. “Shield _up!_ ” Her brows shooting down, lips peeling away from sharp canines, her appearance suddenly going fierce. The man… the young soldier, probably her own age, jumped about an inch off the ground and his shield shot up so fast, he nearly hit himself in the face. She hid her chortle behind her mug but her shoulders still rocked.

Cullen shook his head and rolled his lips in to bite at them, silencing himself. “That’s… not funny, Ana.” He stilled, realizing that, in his frivolity, he’d called her by her first name. He chanced a look but… she didn’t seem to notice, if anything, she acted as if it had been nothing at all.

Ana gave a bit of a shrug. “Yes it is.” She countered quietly. “Oh, right, the reason I’m here.” She finally stopped leaning on him, pushing the last bit of the healing spell into him before she straightened and supported her own weight, her heavy boots sinking back into the mucky snow mixed with mud. She fished around in her pocket before offering him the crumpled missive. “This was delivered to the Chantry today… I… know of the company it speaks of… but… I wanted to know your opinion.”

Cullen’s brows shifted as he watched her, taking the paper, he smoothed it out, honey eyes flowing over the runes. “Why… would you want to know…” He shook his head, confused as to why his opinion on this would matter.

“Because you are the Commander of the Inquisition’s forces… this Mercenary company wishes to join them… if you are not comfortable with them, then I will tell no.” She said simply, looking down at him with all the sincerity her words carried.

Cullen stared at the paper for a moment longer… at every turn, the Herald had surprised him… she was young… but wise beyond her years… and she had taken a keen interest in each of them, forming bonds that shouldn’t have been as firm as they were in such short periods of time. Even with himself, though he fought it. _Because she’s a mage._ Even that… started to matter less each day she _bugged_ him. But this… was the first time she’d explicitly sought him out for his _professional_ opinion. “From what I understand, and what I have heard, which is admittedly not much… the Bull’s charges seem to conduct themselves professionally… and right now…” He sighed, letting his hand and that missive fall back to his side, the other lifting to subconsciously rub at the back of his neck. “We could use all the help we can get.” He unknowingly parroted her own thoughts.

Ana nodded. “Agreed.” She looked back at the meager troops that stretched down and along the small frozen bank and into the valley. “It’s settled then… I’ll head out first thing.” She offered him her mug, lips drawn in, pulled into a thin line, brows held high as if to say _wish me luck!_

Cullen took the mug with a befuddled look, and watched her just… _walk off._ He blinked down at the half drunk ale… chanced a quick look around before taking a healthy swallow and exhaling slow… “Oh… that is nice…” It was warm and spiced… and he felt that comforting heat spread all through him. He stopped himself from taking another swallow though, instead, dumped it on the ground much to the horror of the nearby soldiers and set the mug down on a bench before sending them all a stern look.


	2. Chapter 2

Ana made a talking motion with her hand tucked up against her chest, more like a quacking duck actually as she rolled her eyes and silently added _blah blah blah_ with her mouth at Varric while Solas droned on behind her. She couldn’t stand that elf sometimes… he just… never shut up! By all that was holy in this world, couldn’t he just _not_ tell her about how the elves once did this or that in a particular area? They had just left Scout Harding on the Storm Coast… they’d already been here before… and she had a whole group of fanatical crazies that called her _Your Worship_ out here. It was… a little disconcerting but… she’d take what she could get. They passed a few of them now… she gave them a bit of a nervous nod and a dorky wave but they _bowed_. She sighed heavily and pushed on… Sera snickering beside her. “Shut it, you.” She grumbled to the not-elf.

Varric had chuckled under his breath at Ana’s reaction to Solas’ talking, he… well, he’d always been able to be around just about everyone. Except for Cassandra, but he had his reasons there. Though… Solas did push it sometimes. He watched Ana slide down a steep embankment, her heavy boots landing in the loamy soil, he shook his head for what seemed like the hundredth time… she _had_ to be cold. She had no coat… and she wore… this… thing that he wasn’t even sure could be called a shirt, it damn sure didn’t cover much. It was more like just a couple straps of fabric that covered what mattered… some ropes or something on her wrists and forearms… some on her biceps and then some leathers like Cassandra wore, patched together and way too fucking tight in his opinion… and then these ridiculously heavy boots. And to top it _all_ off, she wore more of those fabric strip things, a belt that hung low on her hip and a freaking saber. A scimitar? He didn’t even know what those swords were called but they were crazy sharp and curved and he _knew_ first hand that she could use it. Which was completely insane considering she was a mage.

Sera blew her a raspberry in response to her _command_. What could she say? The Herald was hot! Completely and totally… just… wow. And that stuff she wore? Hello Herald! Sera snickered to herself as they pressed on further towards the actual coast. “Why is it called the Storm Coast, I’ve always wondered, I mean… you got the Wounded Coast… where’s Torture Bay? How about… Breakneck Cove?!” She cackled at her own joke.

Solas narrows his eyes as his mouth snapped shut over being interrupted. He _loathed_ that elf… more than any he thought he could. He knew that Ana didn’t always listen to his lessons but at least she had the decency to be silent through them… he rolled his eyes at her supposed humor and refocused his attention on the back of the _Herald._ He saw the scars she bore from her short past… there weren’t many but there were a few… primarily, he supposed, because she insisted on fighting like a blasted warrior as opposed to the mage she truly was. A fact that was a constant source of ire for him. True… she was skilled… but it didn’t stop his heart from leaping into his throat each time she dove into battle so… recklessly.

Ana threw her head back and chortled. “What about the Sea of the Maimed? Oh!! I know…” She nudged Sera and gave her a sage nod, narrowed eyes to match. “Gore Fjord.”

Sera cackled louder, leaning against Ana as they both shared a hearty laugh over that one… even Varric chuckled, Solas however… just scoffed and rolled his eyes again. _Children._

Their impromptu josh session though was quickly interrupted by the sounds of fighting… Ana’s features immediately fell and hardened… as all of theirs did… it was show time. She glanced over her shoulder and kicked her chin towards the sound… Varric was already drawing his precious crossbow and Solas had his staff in his hands… that was the only instruction and answer needed. Ana’s hand fell to her hilt… and Sera’s bow came off her back… Ana’s boots dug into the rocky sands and towards the sounds they went.

Bull swung his axe, a sound of pure battle joy coming from him from the exertion as he cleaved a Venatori’s leg clean off, the man screaming in agony as he went down. Another heavy swing and that screaming stopped. _Chief, look out!_ He heard Krem yelling at him, he spun towards his blind side but didn’t find what he expected, he had his axe at the ready, but not raised… he wasn’t new at this. He had to blink for a second because it all happened so fast… one moment he saw the Venatori there, the man’s polearm raised… Bull’s first thought was, _damn this is gonna hurt_ , the next was, _what the fuck?!_ The next moment, he saw another Qunari… _she_ slammed into the man, her shoulder leading as she threw her weight into him, sending him sprawling to the side, she spun, her scimitar slicing the man’s _head_ off. It spun on his neck for a moment before everything just went… down. She… was still for a fraction of a second before she straightened from the slight crouch she had fallen into. She looked at him… crimson eyes lit with battle, gave him a subtle nod before turning on another Venatori that charged her… and loosed a spell that went right into him, lightning pouring into his body that made him shake, tremor, and eventually crumble to the ground. _Kill the sarebaas!_ He heard someone yell… and that seemed to snap him out of whatever lull he had stupidly fallen into… he leapt towards a Venatori, axe raised high… and was back in the fight.

When it was all said and done… Ana sat on one of the driftwood logs, a rag out, cleaning her blade as it somewhat rested on her knees. Varric and Sera were collecting their bolts and arrows and Solas? He was down by the water… doing… something. She didn’t rightfully know… her eyes were fixed on the waves… feeling that pull within to the ocean. Her Mother’s words whispering through her memory… _it is the sea, imekari (child)_ , _she calls to us all… but she is fickle, she takes more than she gives… remember that should you ever think to join her…_ she sucked in a sharp breath as a deep voice drew her back to this time. She glanced up at the mountain of Qunari that stood before her, his wide horns aiming towards the sky, the eye patch, the broad chest that spoke of a time when he was once much more than he was now… spoke of his age.

Bull had sort of been… avoiding… her. Which he knew was kind of stupid, he had sent for her after all… but only because he had been told to. She was… a _sarebaas_ … off leash. He expected… well, he didn’t know really. He didn’t expect her to swoop in, sword in hand, and barrel into the battle and seriously save his ass, that’s for damned sure. He hadn’t expected her to be… so damned young. He could tell by how short her horns were, the youthful look of her skin… and just… damn… everything. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought her one of the _antaam_ for how she looked, dressed… fought. Except the whole magic thing. He cleared his throat after he addressed her and she seemed not to hear him… as if she were… far away from here, staring at the waves. Then, she seemed to startle… he saw her eyes clear, damn… those eyes, they were crazy. They were like… the color of dragon’s blood or some shit. He’d never seen anything like it. “So…” He cleared his throat… again. “I bet the Chantry just _loves_ you.”

Ana smirked, stood and sheathed her sword in one swift motion, letting it slap down into the scabbard. “Oh yeah… _loads_ , they invite me over for tea _every_ Sabbath.” She folded her arms over her chest, taking a breath and flexing her shoulders out, as she tended to do when she squared off her stance. She squinted an eye at him in thought. “So… the Qun sends a _Ben-Hassrath_ to infiltrate the Inquisition for fear of their _Tal-Vashoth_ Herald.” She saw the ever so slight twitch of a muscle, just there, under his covered eye. “I’m surprised they didn’t send _arvaraad_ , it would have been the smarter choice.” Her gaze was unyielding… and her expression was the same as she waited for him to reply.

Bull’s inner thoughts were along the lines of _shit…_ and _how the hell did she know_. But… he recovered quickly since he had every intention on telling her anyway, that had been his trump card to gain her trust, to get in. But now… he had no trump card, she’d swiped the carpet right out from under his feet… still, he knew… honesty was the only way to go here. “Well, they didn’t _know_ you were _sarebaas_ , or they would have sent _arvaraad_.” He agreed, lacing his fingers and letting his hands rest in front of him comfortably. “But they sent me. So, here I am.” He gave a subtle dip of his chin and lifted his thumbs slightly. “And you won’t be getting just me, you’ll get the boys too. They don’t come finer.” He hid the nervous swallow before continuing. “I’ll also be sending reports… and _getting_ reports from _Ben-Hassrath_ agents from all over Thedas. Valuable information.” He reminded, leaning forward slightly. He noticed how she leaned back slightly, keeping the same distance between them though her expression did not change, she seemed to do it out of instinct, or subconsciously.

Ana considered this male before her… she knew he didn’t have to tell her anything, he could have feigned innocent… or lied all together. In fact, he was trained well in doing just that. But… he didn’t. She fought the desire to narrow her eyes at him suspiciously. She stared at him for the longest time before giving a shrug. “Sure, why the hell not.” She started to turn away before she glanced down at his hands and back up to him. “By the way… just another tip… you know… to add to your wealth of _Ben-Hassrath_ training…” She had her brows perked at him, her arms having already fallen from their defensive position.

Bull wanted to breathe a sigh of relief but he knew better… she had agreed _way_ too fast for her to be anything other than suspicious. But her suggestion… that had him perking his own brows at her. “Oh?” His voice rose slightly with the question… he was genuinely curious as to what she thought she could tell him that he didn’t already know. He wasn’t egotistical by any means but… well… he’d been doing this a _long_ time and he was damn good at what he did.

Ana nodded and pointed at his hands that were still clasped over his… groin. “Whenever a male is feeling threatened… they tend to… protect their… vulnerability.” She stalled her words slightly, flicking her eyes down at him pointedly before smirking and turned to leave. “ _Panahedan, Ben-Hassrath._ ” She said the farewell rapidly, as if she hadn’t just referred to his genitals.

Bull’s lips popped open as he glanced down, following both her point and her eyes… his hands immediately unclasped and moved to his side as he straightened. Then… she just walked off. He cleared his throat, feeling the sides of his neck warm with an uncharacteristic blush. What… the hell… was wrong with him?! He shook his head at himself and barked at Krem to pack it up, that they’d just gotten hired.


	3. Chapter 3

The sparring ring that Cullen preferred to use was tucked away from the main training yard… and he only ever used it once the bulk of the forces had retired for the night. Ever since Blackwall had joined them… Cassandra had taken to sparring with the man. Cullen didn’t need to ask why… the Seeker always held back when she sparred with _him_ and Cullen hated it. She didn’t have to… but she always did. So… on impulse one night… he asked Ana if she would be interested… and she took him up on the offer. The next day he had been sore, stiff, and sporting a split lip… and she? She had a nasty bruise on her hip and cheek… but both shared a secret grin when she visited him that morning… and the next night, Cullen found her waiting for him in the ring. That was the way of it, every night. The ring was… gone now… too many people, it had gotten too crowded and it had been decided, even by himself, that there just wasn’t room for two dedicated sparring rings. However… he still sparred in the same spot… as did she. He’d never admit it out loud, he was far too private a man… and he didn’t think he had to admit it really… for most probably thought there was more going on than there was.. but he had grown quite fond of Ana. She was like a younger… bigger… sister. In fact, there was no _like_ about it. She laid in his heart right beside Mia. And he had begun treated her as such… in private of course. The night air bit at him, bare chested… armor on the ground, boots skirting around the freshly fallen snow covered ground, fists raised… a smirk tugging at him as she bounced around. “Yeah… uh-huh.”

Ana had her own fists raised, wrapped just as his were… her own shirt more of a tank though her stomach still showed… even in the chill, but both had already worked up quiet the sweat so it was fine. “I mean it…” She was sort of hopping around, exhilarated. She loved sparring and Cullen held nothing back… she’d never had a brother but she’d grown up around boys, lots of them… and Cullen was no different. He was strong for a human and he had a playful side to him that he didn’t let anyone else see. “I’m gonna hit you so hard, your children will be born bruised.” She taunted with her chin aimed upwards slightly, shaking her head as she bounced again. She watched as he chuckled and shook his head… his body swaying as he drew closer… and then leapt towards her. It was a dance, like any other… but it involved spins, kicks, punches, dodges… flips, tackles, ups, downs, and turns.

Bull watched from his ‘porch’. The covered shelter in front of his tent… their ring wasn’t that far away, in fact, it was just across from him. Ana had a good half foot on the man and probably… thirty or forty pounds but they were pretty well matched… she was more flexible and lithe but Cullen had brute strength on his side. Bull had woken up to one of their spars one night, at first he’d been alarmed, thinking they were under attack… but then his alarm had turned to sheer shock as he watched the _Commander_ and the _Herald_ going at it like they _hated_ each other. Tonight was no different… he winced as Cullen’s fist slammed into Ana’s nose, her head snapping back, blood pouring down her lips… the man didn’t so much as blink at it. He just spun and aimed an elbow for her jaw. Ana ducked and snatched him around the neck, flipped him and slammed his back onto the ground… Bull heard the sharp exhale from here as Cullen’s breath was knocked out of him. Bull felt, and not for the first time much to his irritation, bitter jealousy as Ana straddled Cullen’s waist and the man slapped the ground. It seemed tonight… the fight was hers.

Ana held her hands up in victory and did a jig, ignoring the way Cullen grunted and made mock sounds as if he were being squished. “That’s right, uh huh…” Ana turned this way and that as if she were being cheered at. “The mighty Commander… felled by _Vash— oof!_ ” She coughed as she caught a face full of snow. She jerked as she found herself on the ground, back pressed into the snow, pinned down and more snow being pelted down on her.

Cullen dug his knees in the ground as he brought handful after handful of snow up and dropped them on her face as she batted them away. “How’s the view from snow heaven there _Kaaras?_!” He barked out with a broad grin, blood still staining his lower lip.

Ana screeched as she batted the snow away, her heels digging into the nearly permafrost soil, she bucked and sent Cullen off to the side. “Oh it’s lovely, you should _see it!_ ” She ground out as she slapped at the snow bank they had drawn near to, sending the fresh powder at his face. She felt his legs snap around her waist and a snow war began.. until she heard a shrill voice cry out.

Cassandra gawked at them. “ _What! Are you two doing!?”_

Bull had been watching… feeling that seed of jealousy just fucking grow. He couldn’t… fucking stand it. Not them… well… them… but mostly the feeling inside of him. What the hell was that about?! He was so fixated that he hadn’t even noticed the Seeker as she made way back to her own tent… and then… that she saw them… he did notice when she approached them though, he made an eek face and ducked back into his tent… but continued to spy. He heard her shrill question and saw both Cullen and Ana untangle and pop up onto their feet, snow in their hair and on their clothes, sticking to them like powdered sugar, blood still on their faces, now flushed with spent laughter.

Cullen was panting as he stood there… staring at Cassandra… he… didn’t have an answer… at all. He just… stared wide eyed at her.

Ana shifted her weight anxiously, her fingers held before her as she wrung her hands. “We’re uh… uh… we’re uh…” She looked at Cassandra’s harsh look, the woman actually put her hands on her hips at them! “Checking this hill for avalanches!” She barked out, gesturing behind her. “It’s very unsafe! To have it… so close to camp!” She nearly yelled at her, she turned slightly and looked at it. “Enough snow and one loud nose and _bam!_ Poor Varric could be buried up to his… knees! And then where would be.” She gave a high browed nod as she gestured at Cassandra before crossing her arms and shifting her weight so rest on a single leg, hip jutting out slightly.

Cullen rolled his lips in and bit at them sharply to stave off his laughter over _the most_ idiotic excuse and reasoning he had ever heard. He felt a sharp elbow in his arm and he cleared his throat and forced his expression to smooth though laughter danced in his eyes. “That’s um… that’s correct. Safety should be… our.. primary… concern.” The last two words were nearly lost as his voice pitched upwards, his throat tightening as he tried desperately not to laugh.

Cassandra just _glared_ at Ana as she started weaving a tale that would make the aforementioned dwarf proud. She opened her mouth to reprimand them further when all three jerked and looked behind her as a hearty laugh just roared out of Bull’s tent… but no Bull was to be seen. Before she could turn back to Ana and Cullen, Cullen spoke again.

“The Bull had insisted, it was his concern that his tent might be in the direct… line of… fire.” Yet again, the last few words pitched and nearly fumbled out of him as his shoulders started to rock with the laughter that was _begging_ to come out of him.

Ana was standing there fidgeting, looking up at the night sky, biting her lips as her own shoulders rocked forward, chest inward, contained laughter causing her whole body to shake.

Cassandra looked back at the two of them and just scoffed, threw her hands up and stormed off. That did it… Ana lost it… she threw her head back and her laughter roared out of her… she set a forearm on Cullen’s shoulder and her forehead landed there… Cullen instinctively jerked his head to the side to avoid the sharp points of her horns as his deep tenor leapt from him, his hand on his stomach as it ached from the laughter that was coming from him… he staggered back a step, an arm going around Ana and hooking on her shoulder. By the time the laughter ebbed, both had tears in their eyes… random bouts still bubbling out of them.

Ana shook her head and ran a hand over her nose, the telling glow in her eyes had the wound heal… but she never healed the bruises, they were inconsequential and would heal fine on their own, the break though… that wasn’t. She turned towards Cullen and reached, watching as he went still… almost too still… as he always did. She made a soft shushing sound as he closed his eyes… she ran her hands over his face… and down his sides, finding a crack in one of his ribs, she pressed her hand against him firmly and watched him wince. “Mmhmm.” She hummed before setting it right. “Good as… well I can’t say new… since you’re old.” She skipped away from a swat as she chortled… both already heading back towards the main gate. When they passed Bull’s tent she barked out at it. “ _Goodnight, nosey!”_ Even though there was no one to be seen.

Cullen had gone still… he couldn’t help it… that fear licked at the back of his mind. As it always did. But… with Ana… it was… less. He didn’t feel the anger, the need to lash out. Probably because she had been using magic on him almost since the first day she met him… and she had been so gentle with it, he hadn’t even noticed. Now… he knew… and after every spar, she healed any breaks or bad wounds. But she left the bruises and the soreness. He appreciated that. Her hand on him always seemed to just… calm him down. He always found himself leaning into her whenever she healed him… it was a comfort he found nowhere else. When she joshed him, he swatted at her with no true intention of making contact… and when she bid the Qunari goodnight, he couldn’t help but smirk at her. The Qunari… this… _Iron Bull_ … he didn’t like him. At all. He found that out day one. He also found out the reason why. It had nothing to do with him being Qunari, though, he had reason enough to not like his people after Kirkwall. But that wasn’t it… it had nothing to do with that and everything to do with Ana. He had been barking orders to the new recruits after Ana had left their morning meeting… he glanced after her and saw him… _Iron Bull_ … watching her as she passed his tent, aiming for the Smithy. But he watched her… _differently_. And a protectiveness flared inside of Cullen so bright that it almost stole his breath. It made his heart skip a beat and his mind go molten. It wasn’t the last time he saw that look from the older Qunari… and he hated it, with every fiber of his being he _hated_ it. He didn’t like him being here, he didn’t want him here, and he wanted him _gone_. He’d brought it up so many times that Cassandra had taken him aside and asked him specifically what his problem was… he’d dodged and said that he just didn’t think it was wise to have a known Qunari spy within their ranks. Which was a valid concern… but… truthfully… he just didn’t like the way that Qunari watched Ana, how his eyes flew down her body and back up again… he knew that look. And he was so not going to let _that_ happen. Not to the Herald, not to her… not to his sister. Not on his fucking watch.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut alert... sort of. We all know the Iron Bull is... a very sexual person. However... restraint is something he's supposed to be good at. In the Qun, denying oneself release is... not something they're used to. I went ahead and akinned it to the whole - alone is bad, with someone else is fine thing (the bible type thing where it's "better to bla bla with a prostitute than bla bla" stuff). Anyway - fair warning.   
> I also went with this whole HC that the Iron Bull has never been with another Qunari before. I don't know why that HC developed but it just did... so go with it.

Inside of his tent, Bull cringed at the address. He knew he’d been busted the moment he laughed out loud… but he couldn’t help it. That was fucking funny. He could just see the Seeker’s incredulous face… and then they brought _him_ into it! That… wasn’t so funny but it was quick thinking. He laid down on his oversized cot and sighed heavily… it would have been contently if it weren’t for the little Bull running laps around his skull constantly chanting her name, if it weren’t for the way his mind kept kicking up images of her. For three months now he’d been around her… and for three months she’d taken him with her almost every single time she left Haven. So he’d seen her fight, seen her negotiate and learned a hell of a lot about her. She was kind in a way he didn’t understand… she was strong in a way he had no idea a female could be… at least not one who didn’t pass for a male. She had this way of looking at people that just made them go… still. She spoke and people just fucking listened, it was so easy for her. She had a poker face to rival even him… sometimes he had no idea what the hell she was thinking… and her mind worked like nothing he’d ever seen, flipping from one thought to the next so fast. She was brilliant on the battlefield… she was a mage true but she fought like a soldier, she was genius with that sword of hers… and the way she moved? He shifted uncomfortably in his cot, reaching beneath the furs and adjusting himself. Damn she was… and her body? Hell… he didn’t even want to start listing off those finer qualities. Her hair was long, he knew that but he didn’t know how long, she never wore it down or at least, he never saw it down. He knew she died the ends red… somehow. She wore _vitaar_ whenever they left Haven… he saw her make it, set magic upon it… and dress herself. Her dress… damn… she dressed like one of the qun… and sexy as hell.

The first time she dressed him? He got goose bumps just thinking about it. He remembered the way her surprisingly delicate yet calloused fingers ran the sturdy rope over his muscles, twisting and tying the knots of his youth in remembered spots… the single coil at the base of his neck that all he needed to do was pull and it would all come undone. The view of her on her knees in front of him as she secured the ties around his waist… it was… he took a ragged breath, rubbing his hands down his face roughly. His cock hard and aching as he laid there… he really should go find someone… a warm body for the night, get this… tension… relieved. But he knew… it’d be hollow. He could still feel her fingers as she painted the ancient designs on his face, the intent way she looked at his skin, focused… purposeful. It had stolen his breath… and if he were being honest here, much more. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her against him… show her what she was doing to him by being so damn close. He sucked in a sharp breath as his groin started to burn. He reached up and clutched his horns, tugging at them roughly, irritatingly. He needed to _stop this_ , this torture he was putting himself through… but every time he closed his eyes… all he saw was her. He saw the deep crimson of her eyes, heard the melodic rhythm of her laughter… saw the generous curve of her hips as she moved… the swell of her breasts… also just… “Perfect.”

He ground out from behind clinched teeth. He’d never been one to hold himself back before, that wasn’t the way of the Qun, that wasn’t him. This… wasn’t him. But here he was, hard as a rock, laying in his cot… _alone_ , holding onto his horns like they could save him from the ball of pain that had become his entire groin. _I wonder what…_ “No.” He cut his mind off from that train of thought. He couldn’t even start to _wonder_ , or let his mind _wander_ for that matter. He cursed under his breath as his brain simply ignored him, as if he had no control over it at all… it fabricated, easily for her leathers were always skin tight, what she would look like without them. He saw in his mind the beautiful curve of her ass, the way her thighs met that spot, one of his personal favorite places to grip… his breath left him far from steady. He knew she’d have plenty to grab… he knew her muscle would be firm but soft… his cock twitched on his abdomen. He rolled his lips and bit at them, his canines nearly spearing the flesh. _She has them too…_ he had never been with another Qunari before. He never really thought about it until now… but he just never had, at least not… completely. Oh he’d been tied up and toyed with by one… but he’d never actually been touched by one with hands… and he’d never touched one. It just… never worked out that way. Elves, humans, dwarves? Oh he’d had plenty. But Qunari? Oh… she’d be strong… _sturdy_. He bit harder, tasting copper as he fought the urge to roll on his stomach, to feel the pressure on his cock… he wanted it… bad. He wanted _her_. He wanted to feel her bend to him… feel her surrender to him… his breath started sawing in and out of him as he gripped his horns tighter, muscles starting to strain, doing anything to keep his hands where they were, to not reach for himself. Because _that_ … that _was_ against the Qun. It was a weakness that was simply not allowed.

Which was why he’d had so many partners… Krem thought he was just promiscuous. But it wasn’t just that… it was this too. He shook his head sharply at himself. _Stop it._ He willed himself to calm… but it wasn’t working… at all. _She’d give as much as she got…_ his hips jerked at the thought… seeing her spar tonight, seeing that strength… he swallowed against the sudden dryness in his throat. She’d make him _earn_ it… she’d make him earn every single _inch_. His mouth fell open as he panted, he couldn’t help it… he needed the air! He felt himself start to weep… his cock throbbing at this point… he _needed_ relief… but he couldn’t get it from the only person he wanted it from. He tried to take a steadying breath… _it’ll pass…_ he nodded to himself, tightening his grip on his horns after rearranging his hands again. He took another deep breath… trying to clear his mind… falling on all the years of training… then out of nowhere, his brain betrayed him again… it visualized her breasts, she’d have dark nipples… pert and ready… his hips twisted as he threw his head back, feeling the sharp ends of his horns score into the mattress. _“God damn it.”_ He cursed under his breath as he writhed there on his cot… forget what he’d been through before, _this_ was torture. He willed his mind to stop, begged it to… but it was only gaining momentum… he saw himself tasting her, touching her, wrapping around her, felt her upon him… the imagery bombarded his mind in flashes, bisected by ragged breaths as he fought to hold himself together. His cock strained, he didn’t even realize he was rolling his hips, thrusting into the air as groans kept getting caught in his tense throat. He tightened his grip and suddenly a flash of an image, a view of his hands holding onto the hook of her horns, her back before him, bowing upwards as she cried out… the _perfect handles_ … he twisted on the cot, jerked, groaned low as he came… heels digging into the mattress as he turned on his side, groin thrusting forward as he spilled right there against the furs… feeling the hot mess on his abdomen. His eyes flew open in complete shock as he held onto his own horns… his breath sawing in and out of him as he looked down at himself in complete… just… _shock_. “Holy shit…” The words came breathlessly as he finally released his aching grip and lifted the fur… as if to check what he knew he’d find… his cock still wept… the last bit of himself seeping from him. _Just the thought… of fucking her… made you come… without even… touching…_ “Holy shit.” He said it again. He just… couldn’t believe it… he reached for the trousers he’d worn that day, plucking them from the pile of dirty clothes and began cleaning himself up, his brow held low in confusion.

Once done, he just flipped the fur over and around, laying back down he stared at the roof of his tent. “Holy.. shit.” He just couldn’t… believe it. That had never happened before… then again… he gave a sort of mouth shrug. He’d never been _that_ aroused before. “Technically…” He said quietly… hands lifting slightly. He didn’t violate the qun… he didn’t do it on purpose… it just… happened.

A week later, Bull woke up in the middle of an orgasm… he bit into his pillow and rode it out… gasping for breath as he opened his eyes wide in shock. Now _that_ hadn’t happened to him since he was a boy… but he’d been dreaming of _her_. He swallowed roughly and rolled onto his back… his brow drawn low in both confusion and worry. He needed to get laid, that’s all. He tried to convince himself. “Yeah… sure.” Even he didn’t believe it. He had it bad… hell… he _wanted_ it bad.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Megaphone: Smut incoming... I repeat... this is a pre-chapter to smut!!!

Bull wasn’t alone in his… infatuation. Though… Ana didn’t have it _that_ bad… she was severely attracted to him. Each time she suited him up, which was often, she knew her fingers lingered on his skin. She felt heat creeping up her spine under his heady gaze… and knew she blushed slightly whenever he held her eye before looking away as if he couldn’t stand it anymore. It only grew more… intently… as the weeks ticked on. One night, she was dressing him for a night op… she had already convinced the advisors that this was Qunari business, because it was… this was also _not_ Inquisition business… because it wasn’t. She ran the dark rope over his waist, kneeling there as she always did when he suddenly stepped away, the intricate knot falling apart and the rope sliding from her fingers. He cleared his throat and shifted his weight… nervously? She looked up at him with a confused expression. “Um… I wasn’t done.”

Bull was… well… he’d say mortified if he knew what that felt like. But embarrassed would have to do. He had been so damned proud of himself, gold star proud… for _not_ making a move on her this whole time, even as she suited him up, each time. But tonight? He blamed it on the night, seriously… when the sun went down it was like his brain and cock conspired against him. So when she was knotting there… he started to get hard… and she was _right_ there, and these pants weren’t exactly… well there was the thick leather that hung there but he wasn’t risking it. He cleared his throat and shifted his weight, hoping that it’d just… go away. But then she spoke and he made a pained expression. “Just… give me a moment.” He walked over to the hill just there by the smithy and slammed his hands into the snow, gathered it up and pressed his face into the shocking cold… hoping that would… do… something. It did… thankfully! He shook his hands out and took a few short but deep breaths and nodded, coming back over to her.

Ana watched him with a raised brow. Um… okay?? She shrugged and shook her head with a look that said _whatever_ … when he was close enough, she reached… only for him to step away from her again.

Bull cursed low and growled under his breath. “ _God damn it.”_ He fisted his hands at his sides before just picking the ropes up himself. “I’ll just… I’ll do it.” He fumbled with the knot, his brow set low and furrowed as he struggled with it.

Ana jerked her head back at his uncharacteristic frustration. She stood up and dipped her chin, trying to catch his eye… was he… he was muttering under his breath as he fumbled the ropes. She shook her head and stepped up to him, reaching for the ropes in his hands only for him to turn away from her sharply… and with a deep growl at that. She jerked her hands back and her spine straightened. “Hey! What the hell?”

Bull did growl at her… it was rare he ever did… even rarer he bared teeth to do it. But damn it! Couldn’t she just… give him some fucking space?! Her voice came out sharp… and there on the edge… a bit of hurt. He heard it. He sighed heavily as he fumbled the knot and it fell apart again, he’d never been really good at _these_ kinds of knots. He set his chin to his shoulder, still not quiet looking at her. “I can’t… just… I can’t be close to you right now…”

Ana’s brows rose slightly at that… and his suddenly bashful demeanor. She saw the tails of the ropes moving, knowing he was making little progress… she rolled her eyes and stepped back around him, snatching the ropes from his hands and jerking them tight once more, she heard the sharp intake of breath and saw how he swayed towards her. She saw his flesh break out in chills… and just there between them… she saw the unmistakable difference in that leather shield’s proximity to himself. Oh… _Oh…_ she swallowed against a suddenly tight throat as she felt her own body respond almost violently. Her voice came out… throaty… much to her horror. “We’re both… adults…” She cleared her throat. “We can… it’s…” She finished the intricate knot and moved onto the next. “Is it hot to you? It’s hot. Maybe… winter’s over…” She babbled, her brow set low as she wrapped the rope around his waist again, her arms snaking around to exchange it from one hand to the other. A move she’d done seemingly a hundred times already…


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bangs Symbols: Smut Chapter! Smut Chapter here! I repeat - Smut Chapter!  
> NC17.
> 
> Also - I have this HC that Qunari are all grrrr when they have sezzy time. And of course, I couldn't get rid of Bull's dominant side. Again, the HC that he'd never been with another Qunari... just yeah. 
> 
> Also - this is NOT non-con. This is just just... like... kink? I'm not sure what to call it, but it's totally consensual.

Bull had gone as a statue when she came back to him… and he felt heat fly up his neck and down his chest when he knew… that _she_ knew. Then she spoke… god… he felt his length harden fully at the _interest_ he heard there. He looked down at her though she was still focused on her task… he saw her nipples pebble beneath the fabric of her top… and his mouth flooded. _Such a bad idea…_ Then… she started babbling… and he couldn’t help the warmth that went through him. Then… then her arms… they were around him and he couldn’t stop himself… he didn’t even know what happened, not entirely. One moment they were there… but the next? He had her against the rock face, her thighs around his waist, one hand gripping the rock overhead, the other gripping that spot he’d dreamed about, where her thigh met her ass, and it was full… just as he knew it would be. His lips shadowing hers as his lips trembled and he ground himself against her, his cock as hard as it had ever been. Her arms around his shoulders, one bent and gripping his horn tightly, her eyes lit with arousal… desire… _lust_. “Let me in..” He managed, his voice had gone so rough he didn’t even recognize it. He watched her bite down on her lower lip, watched how it slid out from beneath sharp white teeth… he felt a shudder race down his spine and dump in his groin as his hips snapped towards her again. “God, let me in…” He said it again, it was a plea, a demand… desperation lacing each word. He pulled on the rock for leverage, rutting against her like some hapless virgin.

Ana was breathless, taken… stolen away so fast. She… had no idea how it even happened. He was just _there_. And she _wanted_ him there. More than anything… one moment it went from severe attraction to a demanding want, a _need_. Her center ached, painful in its need for something to hang onto. His guttural words, his demand… or was it a plea… she didn’t know… she didn’t think _he_ knew. “Not here.” She returned, her words fared no better. She wasn’t entirely lost… though she knew he was nearly there. His eye… it was almost entirely black, the pupil nearly eclipsing the iris. The way he held her, pinned her, moved against her… she felt how hard he was… knew it had to be painful for him. Hell, it was painful for _her_. No sooner had the words left her did he turn, she felt strong hands holding her aloft, a few long strides, one kicked in door later and he ducked into the cabin that joined the Smithy, he kicked the door shut behind him and she threw a hand out, sealing it, the magical barrier glowing for a moment before going invisible again. She reached behind him and pulled on the handle of knots, the ropes falling away from him, she felt wood at her back as he pinned her again.

Bull growled low when he felt all that tension just disappear, he was… bordering on delirious when he _didn’t_ get a rejection. _Finally, I can get this out of my system!_ He lied to himself, again. But he could hope. He stuffed his hands beneath the wide bands of leather she wore over her chest, pushing them upwards and covering her breasts, his cock tensing between them as he felt her nipples scrape against his palms… and… he felt… his eyes nearly rolled as he felt the chilled metal rings against his palms. _They’re pierced, holy shit… they’re pierced._ He immediately dove down, his back bowing almost unnaturally to allow it, he dove for her, framing one as he pulled her nipple in for a harsh suckle, feeling the _gold_ , he caught a glimpse before he took it into his mouth, roll over his tongue. She cried out, he felt her hold on his horns pull at him. He obeyed… willingly. He spent an insane amount of time tasting her… he knew that… but he couldn’t stop, he was addicted to the feeling of that metal on his tongue, to the way she squirmed and cried out each time he tugged at them. By the time he drug his nose back up to her throat, the ropes that once bound his torso were gone entirely, as was the leather… he panted as he felt the metal in her nipples slide along his chest. His cock throbbed in his trousers, he reached and jerked, pulling that leather shield away before pushing against her, letting her feel him in earnest.

They both groaned from it… he wanted to whisper in her ear… all manner of truly naughty things… but his horns prevented it since she was intent on facing him. His hands roamed, just as hers did… he felt them as if they left fire in their wake. He stuffed his own down her leathers, feeling them give, realizing there was a reason for all that patchwork… it made them… _stretchy._ He gripped her skin, pulled her to him as he rutted, like some animal… like _the_ animal he was. “Let me in…” He was at it again… the begging, the commanding… he didn’t know which. He wanted to hurt her, bind her, tease her, toy with her… but he lacked the control tonight, he lacked the patience. His fingers reached, seeking, searching around… he bucked against her sharply when he found her part. “Oh god… here… right here..” He toyed with her opening, barely being able to reach… but he felt the honey that waited for him. He felt her thighs tighten around his waist, felt her hands hold onto him tighter… and then two loud thuds… _her boots._ He pulled his hands away, wanting to smirk at the whimper she gave him… but he couldn’t, he was too focused… he jerked at her waistband, pulling… tugging… hating that he had to step away from her to pull them off of her. As soon as she stepped out of them, he hastily lifted her again, crowded her… his expression was stern, serious, firm… hers was the same, though the corners of her mouth tried to perk upwards… as did his… then… he stilled suddenly… he felt cool air on his scarred eye… she’d pulled his eye patch off. _Shit._ He waited for the familiar gasp, the horror in her expression… but it didn’t come, in fact… it was as if she’d already seen it a million times… without missing a beat, her lips were on his.

The first contact there… he sucked in a too sharp breath and immediately sank into it, driving his tongue into her, sexing her mouth as he felt her sharp teeth scrape over his tongue. He groaned deep when he felt the metal stud in her tongue. His cock wept… he was so hard… he reached between them and fumbled the ties, jerking them loose hastily. He felt her push against him for the first time… he surged forward. _I knew she’d make me earn it…_ he jerked his trousers open, spreading the fabric and freeing himself, growling low when she tensed her thighs to stop his progression. He reached and took hold of her, hooking an arm around her thigh, fingers digging into flesh as he forced himself closer, crowding her. That’s when he heard the first low growl… and it lit him up like nothing ever had. He… he did the same thing. Whenever he was preparing… in fact, one was poised even now. Again, he’d never been with another Qunari before. He felt her nails dig into his shoulder as she drove her other arm between them, forearm braced over his chest. He growled low, letting it rumble out of him much like the fabled source of their own blood… he jerked her arm away from between them and pressed against her fully… reached with the hand he had hooked around her thigh and guided himself. Broke the kiss at the first touch… saw the magic in her eyes… the gilded glow around her irises shinning brightly as she panted.

“Give me what I want.” He ground out as she fought him… he felt her hand grip his horn and pull back, trying to force him to expose his throat, he didn’t allow it. He growled louder… using his weight and strength.. set himself and started to push. She fought even more… bared her beautiful teeth at him… he returned the gesture, felt her weep around him as he slid himself into her, her body gripping him tightly. He pushed a moan from her as he seated her entirely, his breath leaving him as his mouth fell open and everything he didn’t even know he had inside of him seemed to roar to life with dominant satisfaction as she threw her head back slightly and to the side, showing her throat to him. _Submitting_ to him. The hand he’d used to guide himself leapt to grip her under thigh, the other slammed onto the wood as he groaned low. It was everything… no… more… than he even though it _might_ be. She was tight… hot… wet… he withdrew just enough… his hips snapping forward in a piercing thrust as she gave him a yelping cry for how deep he went. “Yes.” He hissed from behind clinched teeth, eyes closed as he unknowingly threw his head back, throat left open… he felt her hand settle upon it gently, framing his adam’s apple, fingers stroking him feather light… he swallowed roughly and repeated the move, feeling himself burry into her… realizing that he was submitting to her… and _loving it_. He felt her nails score down his back… he groaned loudly… falling into a punishing rhythm as he started nipping at her shoulder, her own head bent forward, lips on his skin, feeling her drag her teeth over him had him shudder. He felt one of her horns hook onto his, it was the most… complete… coupling he’d ever experienced. And he was far from gentle… he pounded into her as hard as he ever had anyone… he didn’t so much as chase her release as chase it _down_ , hunted it… pursued it… demanded it.

Growled those demands against her skin as he clawed at both her and the wall. His stance widened as he used his whole body to bring her to fruition… and when she came undone around him? He cried out with her from the feeling… not a moment later he felt his seed poised. _Pull out!_ His mind screamed at him. “I can’t… I… can’t…” He managed, his voice bisected by heavy breaths that just would not catch. It was… pure insanity. He felt her hand brace the back of his neck… _it’s all right…_ her touch turned gentle there for a moment… he leaned back and stared into her eyes as he moved, rolling into her deep enough to feel the end of her, the start of her womb, as if it was making a point. He saw understanding in her eyes. “I… have to… I can’t… I shouldn’t… let me…” He couldn’t form a complete sentence as he felt everything drawing up, he was so damn close. And he was being so damned _stupid!_ He didn’t get a chance to even think anything else… he came so fast and hard… he buried himself into her, his spine went rigid as his lower back tensed, he pulled her against him, crushing her in a tight embrace as he struck, teeth sinking into her neck as he groaned, growled, made all kinds of noise, feeling himself empty in waves of unending pleasure. Each one crashing over him like the ocean… he felt her tense and hold onto him, he tasted the slightest copper on his tongue and eased his bite… but didn’t let go. He couldn’t… not yet… he pinned her against the wall further… boots slipping on the stone slightly before finding purchase once more. When he could finally release her, he threw his head back and roared with a sound of victory… and satisfaction. He finally felt that relief, that release, that ease of tension and frustration. But quick on its heels was self-reprimand and gut wrenching worry followed by a whole lot of _you fucking idiot!!!_ He looked down at her, his chest heaving as he felt her hand on his cheek… he swallowed roughly, knowing his concern was there, etched on his face. “Well… shit.” He said simply.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blows Whistle: Follow up to smut chapter!!

Ana was barely back in her own skin when he looked back down at her. She gave a breathy smirk before he withdrew from her slowly, both of them wincing from the discomfort before she pulled her leathers back on, hopping slightly to secure them. She watched him tuck himself away and then hang his head, hands on his hips, shaking his head at himself. “You have nothing to worry about.” She reassured him.

Bull looked at her sharply, disbelief shinning. “How can you say that? I just… well…” He gestured at her abdomen. “Left that one pretty high up on the porch.”

Ana couldn’t help but bark out a laugh as she tugged the leather straps back down over her breasts, feeling his eyes on her as she did so. “I suppose that’s one way to put it.” She shook her head at him, replaying the words in her head had her snicker again as she bent low and tugged her boots back on.

Bull didn’t appreciate her laughter… this was… damn serious! _You are a fucking moron, an idiot, a reckless, stupid, dumb, cock lead, --_ his self-damning session was interrupted by the gentle hand he felt on his shoulder. His eyes snapped back to her.

“Hey…” She let her own brows pitch outward. “You really do have nothing to worry about.” She set her hand to his cheek this time when he tried to look away, making him look back at her. “Bull, I… I can’t…” She withdrew her hands from him and looked down bashfully, toying with the knots on her leathers. “I can’t have children.” She looked back up at him with an openness she knew she shouldn’t be showing him.

Bull just… stared at her. That… vulnerability he saw… it spoke to all of him. He shook his head. Wanting to soothe her. “You don’t know that… you’re still young…” He watched her give _him_ a look of pity as she shook her head.

Ana smirked with no humor. “When I was fifteen, _Arvaraad_ caught me… I was sterilized.” She explained almost too easily, for it was in the past, it happened… there was little she could do about it now. She gave a shrug before turning away and retrieving his eye patch from the floor.

Bull felt something inside of him simultaneously stand at attention with the reminder of the Qun… and wilt at the same time for what it had demanded of her. He never entertained the idea that she had ever been taken by the Qun. But he knew… what had happened to her was standard practice for all _sarebaas_. Still… he frowned and when she returned to him, offering his eye patch, he couldn’t stop his arms from going around her and pulling her into him, as if he could protect her from the past.

“Whoa… okay…” She smirked slightly, her hands settling on his back, chin tilted upwards as she was nearly swallowed by those thick arms.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay - a lot of stuff here:  
> 1\. I skipped WAY ahead because everything else just kind of went along with the story.   
> 2\. I had to use the Lilo & Stitch gravity thing because that's just too cute.   
> 3\. I always hated the whole Qun or Chargers thing in the game - so here, the chargers survived and the Qun deal was still made - because hello? There was so a way to get over there and save the Chargers from the whole 6 freaking people that were going after them.   
> 4\. I made it that *Adaar* is the one who brings the whole dragon tooth thing to the table, it just seems too sentimental to me to come from the Qun based society.

_“Hissrad, now!”_

The horrible woman yelled on the heels of a hell of a lot of Qunlat, at her… no… not her, Ana looked over her shoulder at Bull. Something fell over his face, crossed his features that made her heart skip a beat. His words went through her like ice. _Right away, Ma’am._ He drew his axe… eyes leveled on her and suddenly, it all made sense. He’d been different since he’d returned from Par Vallen. “No!” She pointed and yelled at Sera and Varric both. “Go after her!” She ordered… and saw how they wanted to argue… but they obeyed. Leaving her alone with Bull. She swallowed against the lump of agony in her throat as she drew her sword.

Bull stared at the Inquisitor… this female that he knew he knew better than he did. It was a constant source of frustration for him. He had been sent to the Inquisition… to spy, to gather intelligence, to worm his way into the Inquisitor’s bed. He’d been successful. But he had an itch in the very back of his mind that he couldn’t scratch, there was more. There had to be more than just sex. The way she looked at him… the way she kissed him, held him… curled around him in her sleep. It had all been completely bizarre. And now… she was staring at him with actual, no bullshit, tears in her eyes. As if he’d… broken her heart… or something. He felt… odd. Off. Not right. It must be some kind of spell, he decided as he tightened his grip on his axe, raising it higher over his shoulder and crouching in preparation to charge.

Ana’s breaths came uneven and painful for how tight her chest had gone. “So that’s what they did to you…” Her chin trembled as she looked over him, tears welling and falling over the ledge of her lashes though she did not blink, fleeing from the heartbreak inside of her. “I knew something was wrong…” She sniffled loudly as she held her sword down by her hip. Her brows pitched outwards as her voice turned wet. She rolled her lips and bit at them, shaking her head when she looked back into his eye… that once held such love. “When you named Krem Chief and sent them all away… I knew it… when you…” She swallowed roughly, wincing when he raised his axe and crouched. She tried to control her breathing, but it sawed out of her anyway as her expression threatened to crumble. “You’re really gone… aren’t you… _Kadan_?” She felt her heart shattering, breaking… melting down… like her hand. He charged, swinging his axe… she deflected and spun… but didn’t attack, her heart just… wasn’t in it. She repeated the action, blocking and deflecting… but she did not advance. Tears… and sobs coming from her the entire time. Sera and Varric eventually came back… but they saw what was going on… so they returned to the Eluvian, since there was no one else around this area… they went there to wait, they knew Ana could protect herself.

Bull was growing increasing frustrated. He knew this female wasn’t even _trying_ and he still couldn’t hit her! He roared in that frustration as he spun and threw a fist out, knocking into her, finally making contact. It hit her in the face, jaw, nose, mouth, somewhere in there… and she went down… hard. That itch in the back of his head bloomed into an ache. He ignored it and charged forward, axe raising over his head only to shatter into a million pieces of harmless metal. He jerked as he looked up and then back down at her, her hand was raised, blood smearing her upper lip and pooling out the corner of her mouth. He roared again, leaping onto her, straddling her, pinning her down, hands wrapping around her throat as he bared down, tightening his grip. That itch went from an ache to a sharp pain, causing him to wince. He felt her hands on his wrists, was she fighting? He… he didn’t really know. He saw tears in her eyes and… a profound sadness, so much so that he actually stilled. She was talking… what… what was she saying… he… forced himself to focus. He jerked when he felt her hand on his face… his lips parting out of sheer shock.

Ana was laying there, feeling his weight, seeing the rage in his features, the command in his eyes. The struggle there as well. She had her hands on his wrists and then she had to touch him. Tears welled and fell out the corner of her eyes, sliding down her temples and into her hair. “Shhh…” Her lips trembled as she made the soothing sound. Her voice came quiet… both because she willed it so and because she could hardly get any air out of her lungs or in. “It’s okay. _Kadan…_ it’s okay.” She kept repeating it… softly as she stroked his cheek… he had gone so still… confusion on his features. She lifted the eye patch out of the way so she could see him entirely… her features threatened to crumble as she swallowed roughly, the action being pulled up short for his hands on her throat. “I love you… it’s okay.” She nodded slightly, as much as she could as more tears spilled. “It is… shhh.”

Bull was… stunned… shocked… confused? What the hell was she doing?! Was this… some.. trick!? He blinked rapidly when she said the first _It’s okay. Kadan… it’s okay._ He felt the sting there in his eyes… he felt his throat starting to go tight as he swallowed roughly when she pulled his eye patch away, an action she had done so many times… and he never understood why. That sharp pain blossomed into a full headache. His eye fluttered as she stroked his cheek. He tore his eyes from hers when she said she loved him… he heard the truth there… he felt the wetness on his cheek… felt her wipe some away and shush him more… he looked down at his hands… just below his thumbs, resting in the hollow of her throat… he saw that split tooth. He’d always wondered why she wore a broken tooth of all things. And… why it had affected her so much when she’d asked where his was. Especially when he’d said he didn’t know. He felt his chin tremble… a shake starting in his hands.

_“It means forever”… she said it smiling as she draped the chain around his neck, clasping it as she kissed his cheek so sweetly. “My parents wore some just like them… it’s a great honor… for one to slay a dragon and bring this back… to show the other their devotion… that they took on an atashi… without fear… knowing they would come back to their Kadan. This shows that.” He’d looked down at the almost white tooth with awe… and then at the one that hung around her neck… it was smaller than he thought it would be… she explained that the teeth were taken from the hatchlings that the dragon always calls to help protect it. “This one is extra special… because we took the mighty beast down together.” She gave him a smile that damn near broke his heart… he agreed… and told her that they’d always be together. He pulled her into his arms, holding her tight against him, feeling her there, smelling her hair… running his fingers through it._

Bull shook his head sharply at the foreign memory, hearing her ragged breath, the way her voice shook. He looked down at her… he was… confused… he flexed his grip around her as if he meant to squeeze harder, and he did… but… he couldn’t. His voice left his lips without thought.. without anything, it seemed his mouth just ran away without him. “Kill me. You have to. I can’t…” He slammed his eye shut, bowing his head and shaking it.

Ana’s features crumbled as she felt his hands loosen, sliding off her neck and resting on the floor beside her throat. She immediately shot up, arms around his neck, holding him tight as he tensed all over, jerking in her hold. “No.” She rasped to him.

_She rolled over on the bed, laughter pouring out of her as he crawled after her, a single brow perked… he was making all kinds of growling noises. “I’m gonna get ya!” He played… she screamed playfully and scampered across the wide mattress in her quarters, he leapt for her and they both fell off the bed, landing in a pile of limbs. “You’re squishing me!” She had cried out with laughter breaking her words… he went limp. “Oh no… the world is pressing down on me…” Her groan of ‘no it’s not!’ “Yes it is, the same thing happened yesterday.” He had replied with a serious tone before she forced his laughter, fingers digging into his ribs. Warmth flooded him._

Bull trembled, shook… chin shaking as he squeezed his eye shut so tight. “ _Kadan…_ ” He pulled her up off the floor as he rocked back on his heels, holding her against him. “I can’t… focus…” He shook his head again as if he could clear it. “You have to—“ He found a hand over his mouth, he looked down into her haunted eyes.

Ana shook her head at him. “I will do no such thing.” She swallowed roughly, settling against him… she removed her hand from his mouth before diving it beneath his shoulder pads… armor that he’d returned with… that he’d insisted on wearing since he’d come back… she unbuckled it and removed it, throwing each one with a strangled sound. “Stupid… fucking…” She fought the tremor that went through her as pure hate boiled up in her… the shoulder pads evaporated in the air, nothing but grains of sand catching the wind.

Bull took hold of her hands. “ _Kadan…”_ He frowned deeply… fingers shaking as he reached for the marring on her neck… on her face… _you did that…_ he told himself. “I… should have never… left…” The words died in his throat.

Ana gave him a shaky look. “No, you shouldn’t have.” She agreed… she took a ragged breath before closing her eyes and healing the worst of the damage… and then the rest… for his sake.

Bull’s frown remained… his mind was still a tangled ball of… he didn’t even know. He couldn’t really… focus. “Get me out of here…” He cast his eyes down… shame filling him up.


	9. Chapter 9

The Exalted Council was six months past… and the Inquisition had gone to ground. Ana had tracked Krem down… and explained what had happened. But… the Bull just wasn’t the same male after that. He insisted that Krem remain in charge of the company but to keep in touch. Ana’s arm… hell, she was already used to it considering what Dorian had done. The magic was solid, and a marvel really. Dorian was going to be famous for it. For now… they could take a moment to come up for air.

Bull stood there, leaning on the heavy wooden post… taking a deep breath of the morning air, watching her… _her_. His… _Kadan_. Her hair had gotten long enough that it brushed her hips whenever she moved… her arm was a gyrating mass of energy that retained a shape only remembered by her magic, it was odd at first… but he quickly grew used to it. It still felt the same as her… it blended seamlessly with the rest of her body. She was calf high in the tidal pools… an apron fashioned, held aloft as she bent low and scooped up the mollusks that were foolish enough to think they were safe in the gentle waters. He felt his insides tremble… _again_. He couldn’t… cope. Not at all. The Qun answered a lot of questions about a lot of things but they did nothing to help anyone cope with… anything. They just re-educated you. And his experience with that… well… he’d almost killed her… for no reason other than he was commanded to. He knew… even though she protested, even though she swore she was fine… that they were fine… he knew that he’d broken them that day. It wasn’t his hands on her throat… it was the months of lying that lead up to it. _That_ was what broke them. The fracture went through their relationship as real as any crystal that met its demise because of such things. And he’d been desperate to fix it… he’d even asked Dorian if there was a way to… fix _her_. In that… make her whole again… he’d heard that… sometimes… having a child… could… strengthen the bond between two people. After he felt like a fool for how Dorian stared at him for the longest time… Dorian’s pity stained words were somehow worse. The man gently explained that what the _Arvaraad_ do… can rarely be undone. That… there was usually so much damage that there generally wasn’t anything left _to_ fix. That was two months ago… and frankly, it had been his last hope. Now… he was at a loss. He didn’t know… what he could do… she slept beside him every night but… felt miles away. He’d roll towards her… wrap an arm around her but… even in her sleep, she’d stiffen and pull away. Awake, she’d lean into him, welcome his hold… but unconscious? Her body was protecting itself… her heart was protecting her… from him. That’s how he knew he’d hurt her… and he’d hurt her deeply. Cullen had questioned him on _why_ he had returned to Par Vallen in the first place. It was simply to check in… that really was all… but… things went fuzzy after that. He was obviously snagged by the re-educators. And sent back… different. Now, whenever he thought about those few months… he felt sick to his stomach. He remembered the number of times he’d touched her with not a single ounce of emotion within him… the number of times he’d parroted the words back to her… _I love you too._ All of it. And he hadn’t meant a single thing the entire time. He used her. And she knew it. He knew it now… and he hated himself for it. He remembered shortly after they arrived here… fresh from the Winter Palace… his heart went to live in his throat the following morning. He saw her… standing in the kitchen, like a normal day… but that necklace… was gone. She’d taken it off… and he hadn’t been able to find it since. It was… just… gone. He was losing her… hell, he’d already lost her. While he reached for her, and she allowed it, again while she was awake, and he’d hold her… kiss her brow… accept affection from her… he’d yet to love her body. He couldn’t. He felt like… hell… honestly, he felt like he’d raped her for those few months. He knew it was… not like that but… it might as well be for the way he felt when he thought about it. No one really knew what exactly had happened… not even Cullen. That had actually surprised Bull… Ana told that man damn near everything. All he knew, which was more than most… was that Bull had been ‘triggered’… and that Ana had snapped him out of it. They thought it was some kind of trigger word that the Vidasalla had yelled at him, buried deep within his subconscious years ago. Cullen was the only one who knew he had been re-educated when he went to Par Vallen, but even he thought it was some kind of trigger word. Not just.. the Vidasalla telling him _now_. He shook his head at himself… again. “Damn it.” He hissed under his breath. He really mucked it up this time… he turned away and headed for the woodshed, knowing that they would need more firewood… if his left knee was any judge of the incoming storm… and it never lied… unlike him.

It took awhile but Ana fished out the last of the mollusks that she’d had her eye on… they’d have enough for a few days now. She turned back towards the cabin just in time to see Bull trudge around the side of it, no doubt aiming for the woodshed. Her brow furrowed as she sighed heavily… they’d been… co-existing out here. She wouldn’t exactly call it living. She… wanted to trust him. But… the dreams. She still had fucking nightmares of… well, she wasn’t really sure. But… it always involved him… and the Qun. She let her lips go lax against one another as she sighed again, the sound fluttering in the breeze coming off the coast, their Island being one of the first to get hit if any storms should come in. Alamar was always bountiful though… even though it was small. She climbed the grassy hill back up to their cabin and ducked into the small barn adjacent to the house, dumping the mollusks into the barrel of sea water. She had just come out of the barn when she ran into Bull… because of course she did. He fumbled the logs he had been holding, she reached, scrambling to catch a few before they fell, both leaping backwards lest their toes get crushed. Naturally, one slipped by and landed square on her left foot, slamming down hard enough for her to yelp, cry out and lift her foot, eyes slamming shut as she hissed after. She felt strong hands on her shoulders immediately following that.

Bull panicked, logs just went flying… he managed to hang onto a few but the rest were primarily deflected, except one… and of course she’d get hurt. He threw the firewood to the side so his hands would be free, he held her shoulders as she balanced on one foot, his heart slamming around his chest. “Shit… are you all right?” His brow furrowed, creased many times over in his worry.

Ana hobbled for a moment, reaching down for her foot. “Yeah… I… just…” She could hardly feel it!! She sent the spell into it but had a hard time focusing with the way he was holding onto her shoulders so damned tight… once done though, she straightened and finally looked at him. She was jarred by the look on his face and in his eye. He was… damn near terrified… riddled with guilt. Her heart wilted. “Oh… Bull…” She felt her expression start to tremble.

Bull swallowed roughly, hating the sting that came to his eye as he stared down into hers… he’d never tire of the deep red that was her irises. “I keep hurting you.” He hated how small his voice sounded. Hated this male he’d turned into. Who the hell would want him around? He was weak… pathetic… _broken._

Ana knew he meant more than just the firewood. She took a slow breath and shook her head slightly, reaching for him, arms wrapping around his waist as she stepped into him, cheek pressing to his chest, hearing his heart pounding out a rhythm that was near panicked. “Shh.” She said it quietly… and felt him tense further. She didn’t understand…

Bull kept his hands on her shoulders. He didn’t wrap around her like he wanted so desperately to. Her soothing sound… his chin shook from it. _Shh… it’s okay… Kadan._ In that moment, in a flash of his mind, he could feel the slender column of her throat in his hands. He jerked away from her entirely, turning around and taking a few steps as he tried to fill his lungs with air that just wouldn’t come.

Ana startled when he pulled away like that. “Bull…” She came up behind him, settling her hand on his back, feeling the muscles shaking. She moved around in front of him though he had started to curl into himself. “I am here.” She said softly, ducking down and working her way into his arms, feeling him shudder.

Bull was… he didn’t know. He was… trying to remember how to breathe. Then… she was there again. He held onto her… he didn’t want to… but at the same time, he wanted it more than anything in the world. “I am so damn sorry.” His voice had gone thick as he nearly crushed her to him. This wasn’t the first time he’d apologized… and he knew it wouldn’t be the last… but it was the first time since they’d been here… he’d been too wrapped up in his own bullshit to say much of anything. “I broke us.” He hated the hitch that bisected the words.

Ana closed her eyes as his words whipped across her heart. The last ones in particular. She shook her head and tried to pull away to look at his face, he wouldn’t allow it. She shook her head at him. “No.” She held him tighter, feeling his hold go even more around her, feeling him hide his face in her hair. “ _Kadan…_ listen to me… you did no such thing. _You_ did no such thing.” She stressed the word.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beats the Drum: Smut Chapter!! Smut Chapter here!!!  
> NC17 or whatever.
> 
> Yes, another smut chapter, because I'm apparently a big ol' pervo.

Bull understood her meaning just fine… and he harbored a healthy hate for the Qun as well. But he still… he brought that to her. He pulled away, reluctantly, still bowing his head and hiding in a certain sense. He shook his head at her… still refusing to open his eyes… he felt air hit his scarred eye and frowned, knowing she’d removed his eye patch again. He knew she liked to ‘see all of him’. He started to look up at her… finally… when she stole what little breath he’d managed to get a hold of. She kissed him. It wasn’t soft… but it wasn’t firm either, it was somewhere in between… and it pulled a strangled sound from deep within him as he pulled her to him sharply and he immediately licked at the seam of her lips, craving more. And by whoever looked out for them… she gave it. She parted them for him… he immediately sank down into the kiss, falling into it was more like it. His hands tangled in her hair as he took an urgent step towards the side door of the cabin, feeling her hands grabbing at his shoulders and arms, hanging onto him as he pitched her off balance. He caught her as she tripped… he pulled her into his arms, hoisting her up, her skirts splitting as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He reached, jerking the door open as _he_ nearly stumbled inside.

He barely managed to pull the door shut behind him… he broke the kiss, he had to breathe… his heart was slamming around unevenly in his chest. He framed her face with one hand… shadowing her lips as he pulled her against him. “God… I need you…” He didn’t realize how much until she had kissed him… then it was as if that one touch had let loose the flood waters like the damn in Crestwood. He saw the barely leashed desire in her eyes… her voice came to him thick and wet… hurt lacing the words. _Show me… show me you love me…_ he felt nearly all his muscles swell. This… this he could do. He would show her… he could say it until he was blue in the face and she would doubt him… but this… he couldn’t fake. He knew that… he nodded and kissed her again, passing over the threshold to their bedroom. He all but threw her down on the bed… he toed his boots off impatiently… jerked his vest off and was on her not a heartbeat later… hands jerking at the ties of her dress, her apron… gone. Skirts… they fared no better… he had to pause and take a breath… he was so hard. He wanted her… so bad. He tore at her skirts, the sound of fabric ripping filled the air after his respite… he threw them aside, he didn’t even know if they cleared the bed.

He fell onto her, lips on her neck, teeth scraping over her skin… feeling her nipples on his chest… he dove down and tasted her… she twisted and cried out… moaned for him. His hips snapped forward on their own… he all but scampered down her body, desperate… he felt her hold on his horns tighten, as if to stop him… he didn’t listen, he didn’t… want to stop. He took her in his mouth, tongue sweeping over gentle folds, she cried out, her entire body bowing off the bed as he growled low, his cock jerking in his leathers. He reached and gripped her thighs, spreading her as he grew eager… he mimicked the act with his tongue, he toyed with that sensitive nub of flesh that had her screaming for him… he drove her to the edge and over, diving down to swallow down her release as he ground his cock against the bed. He felt her pulling on his horns, pulling him back up to her… he didn’t need to be told twice… he was already working the laces on his leathers when his lips covered hers in a heated kiss… he groaned long and loud at that.

He’d always found it so damned hot that she didn’t mind where his lips had been… just as he never minded where hers had been on him. He jerked all over when he finally freed himself, his cock jutting away from him as it wept for her. He tugged his leathers downward… determined to come to her with nothing on. He finally kicked them off… and immediately crowded her. He braced himself… expecting… but she didn’t fight him… for the first time, she simply welcomed him. He felt his heart swell. He broke the kiss and shook all over as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as he tested… his mouth falling open when he felt her on the head of him, she was wet… and ready. He rolled his hips… catching her opening… he held her shoulders as she arched her back, throwing her head back as he started to push into her. He entered her slow… showing her… that he could be gentle. His breath left him as he seated her… felt her legs wrap around his as he spread his knees.

“I missed you… so damn much…” He managed, lips falling to her neck again… his mouth flooding with territoriality… dominance racing around his spine. He withdrew slow… and started a rhythm that was rock steady. He felt her hanging onto him… felt her warming all around him… felt her humid breath on his neck… then cheek… kissing again… slow and unrushed… but passionate. He looked into her eyes… saw her love… and she saw his. _Tal-Kadan…_ she called him. Her _true_ heart… true love, generally speaking. He felt a tremble go through him at that… he nodded… words escaping him as he filled her. He wanted… god he wanted to give her everything. He felt her drawing near… saw it in her expression, felt it around him… he rolled into her deep… moved just a bit faster… knowing it was enough… she came undone around him, undulating beautifully. He bowed his head and gripped her shoulders tightly… he couldn’t… stop himself… he felt how slick she had gotten… felt her body pulsing around him, drawing him in deep… his hips snapped forward, driving into her sharply. He felt her nails score his back and he twisted from it, a groan doing the same… twisting out of him.

His hand leapt down and gripped her flank… holding her to him as his other hand tangled in her hair, gripping a handful as he started bucking against her… his weight shifting to his forearm… he looked down into her eyes… knowing his had gone fixed… knowing his pupils were huge… knowing what she was seeing… knowing she was welcoming him. Welcoming this claiming… he drove into her so deep he was curling her beneath him, his knees digging into the mattress as he pounded into her. He felt everything drawing up… pleasure racing around him as he thrust into her a final time, his seed leaping from him as he bit down on her neck… this time… copper flooded his mouth… he jerked her to him… swallowed… and emptied into her. He took as much as he gave… and felt her orgasm around him again, fiercely. She screamed so loud… he felt himself come harder than he ever had before… then his entire body twisted… back bowing… she’d sank her teeth into his shoulder. He groaned… growled… he wasn’t sure which, deep… and louder than he’d ever been before… his cock jerked, come shooting from him again as he forced himself in deeper. They stayed locked in an orgasmic high for… he had no idea… when he finally pulled away, he covered her lips desperately, clawing at her, pulling at her as he immediately started moving again. He didn’t leave her body until the moon was hanging heavy in the night sky.

He thought he’d fall asleep fast… but he didn’t. He laid there, pulling his fingers through her hair as she slept, curled up against him. He held her to him, he didn’t let her move away… and she didn’t tremble out from under his touch, she didn’t cringe away… he ignored the steady tears that were streaming out the corner of his functioning eye… he was so damn… grateful. _Please… don’t screw this up._ He told himself. He begged… prayed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cliche... I know... but come on!!!! Him in that role? Yessssss.

_Three months later…_

“What is it?!” Bull held her against him as she sagged, her head thrown back as she gasped, wide eyed. Ana had a hand braced over her lower abdomen and the other gripping his shoulder over her head.

Ana gasped again at the stabbing pain. “I… don’t know…” She sucked in another sharp breath, looking up at him with… fear. She was terrified… she’d never felt anything like this and she couldn’t pinpoint it either.

Bull was… clueless. He picked her up as she cried out, hoisted her into his arms and turned towards the door. They were on a rare trip to Tevinter. “Dorian!” He barked out, his voice carrying as he shouldered out of the store room they had been in, where Ana had been teaching him how to make a particularly strong poultice.

Dorian came rushing down the hall, his Magister robes flowing around him, confusion marring his brow as he took them in. “What’s wrong?”

Bull shook his head. “I don’t know!” He barked back at him, feeling Ana start to shake against him. “She just… went down…”

Dorian was right there, hand reaching for her… he ignored the low growl from the Bull, he was used to the male’s insane protective streak at this point. He settled his hand over her brow and frowned at the cold nature of her skin. “Come on… bring her in here…” He gestured to the side… the parlor would have to do. He rushed ahead, tossing a few of the throw pillows off of the couch before Bull laid Ana out, the look on the qunari’s face was… well, touching really. Dorian ran a hand over her from head to… he paused over her abdomen and went rigid all over, eyes widening as he flicked them up to her strained features. Her whole body tensed and lurched as she tried to curl in on herself. “Easy now…” He said low as he splayed his hands over her and shushed her quietly.

Bull felt her hand grip his tightly… hating this feeling of… uselessness. He didn’t miss the way Dorian went still… he frowned deeply, wrapping his other hand with his, rubbing at her wrist comfortingly as he stood behind the couch, leaning over them. He knew there were a lot of major organs there… a lot of things to go wrong.

Dorian swallowed roughly as he… secured certain… things, fixed… things… patched… ensured… eased… his eyes fluttering behind closed lashes. It took an agonizingly long time. He winced inwardly at the damage he found, both new… and old. He finally took a deep breath, hearing Ana do the same. He reached up and brushed some of her sweat soaked hair from her brow. “There… all better.” He gave her a nod and a gentle smile.

Ana swallowed roughly as well, nodding. “What… what…” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Bull finished for her. “What the hell was that?” He had her hand clutched and up against his chin, speaking over her knuckles.

Dorian looked between the two of them and then pointedly at the Bull. “Well… I did what I could... and this is hardly my area of expertise… but… the answer to that question should be here before the year is out... Daddy.”


End file.
